


Not The Bad Kind

by nightcamedown



Category: Leverage
Genre: Community: comment_fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-02
Updated: 2010-08-02
Packaged: 2017-10-17 17:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/179128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightcamedown/pseuds/nightcamedown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bit of silliness in response to the prompt <i>Leverage, Eliot + team, "Well, we're not the bad kind of criminals."</i> Hardison tries to reassure a client; the rest of the team takes offense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not The Bad Kind

Their latest client, a careworn rancher's wife from Montana, blinked up at him. "But aren't you criminals?"

Hardison smiled widely. "Well, we're not the bad kind of criminals." He looked around the table at his team's faces. He expected - well, not applause. He'd outgrown expecting that even when he clearly deserved it. But some appreciation would be nice - a smile from Parker, maybe, or a tight nod from Nate.

But three of them stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. And Eliot did that thing where he looked surprised, then remembered that the Big Bad Wolf would never be surprised by Little Red Riding Geek, and went for furious, then checked himself mid-glare so as not to scare the client, and ended up mostly just looking twitchy. (Which, Hardison had so far refrained from pointing out, tended to scare the clients anyway. Twitchy was not a good look on a man with arms that size.)

"Uh," Hardison said.

"We'll be in touch," Nate recovered smoothly. He gave the client his most reassuring smile; it worked, as always, like a charm. She gathered her things and walked out of McRory's with a positive bounce in her step.

After an awkward beat of silence, Hardison cleared his throat. "It was a reference. I was referencing - you know, remember when Eliot said I wasn't - "

"I'm a badass," Parker exploded. She slammed her hands on the table and her ponytail gave a bounce that Hardison really, seriously, honestly tried very hard not to find bewitching.

"How dare you insinuate," Sophie said, her voice trilling into full diva range, "that I'm not a bad criminal? I'll have you know that authorities in Portugal and Spain would take serious issue with that assertion!"

"I run the nastiest crew on either side of the Atlantic," Nate spat. "Not just this side. Either side."

"I'm, like, the baddest criminal there is," Eliot sputtered, throwing his hands in the air. Everyone else paused and nodded vigorously. "Seriously, man. Who's badder than me?"

Hardison shrugged. "You were the one said I wasn't the bad kind."

"You're not." Eliot packed a lot of scorn into those little words.

"Hey." Hardison bit his lip and folded his arms tight across his chest. "Man, I thought you meant it as a compliment."

"I meant it as a statement," Eliot growled. "Acknowledging the fact that you keep dolls in your room and drink orange soda and have only ever fought - " and around the word _fought_ he formed some truly insulting air quotes - "injured guys and little dudes."

Hardison drew in a breath to argue, but Nate cut him off by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Hardison, we like that you're not the bad kind." Nate's color was still high, but his eyes were clear and kind. Hardison suppressed a shudder. Man could turn on a damn dime. Spooky. "We really like that about you. But, you know. A little respect."

There wasn't much to say to that, but Hardison wasn't quite ready to yield. He tried to stare down Eliot instead, which was a monumentally pointless exercise he still indulged in on special angry occasions. It was like looking into the ocean and expecting it to wince. _It's good to challenge yourself, dear,_ Nana's voice said gently in the back of his mind. _One day the crazy bastard will blink and that will be a gooooood day,_ his own mental voice added, and that thought alone was enough to make him break and grin.

"Fine. I'm badder than y'all give me credit for, anyway. Who else is gonna help you steal a rodeo?"


End file.
